International Workers Day

Tomorrow, May 1, is International Workers Day, a non-working public holiday in over 80 countries in the world.

In recent years, at least in the developed world, May Day has mostly been a day to celebrate the value of workers and the many rights the labor movement has earned for workers, as well as a day to remember the many martyrs who died for the cause.

Although the United States celebrates Labor Day in September, the holiday was inspired by the riots that occurred in Chicago in May, 1886. American and immigrant workers demanded an eight hour work day with demonstrations in Haymarket that turned very ugly, in large part due to the aggressive reactions by police.

Since then, May Day throughout the world has seen many organized public events, street demonstrations and even violent riots to demand improved working conditions for workers.

I was fascinated by this very interesting and fair PBS account of what lead to the Haymarket riots (Part 1). And then with what happened in Haymarket on May 3 (Part 2) and the tense and unjust events that followed (Part 3).

What struck me most about this program are the echoes of what we are hearing and seeing today with the Occupy Movement. From what I read in the news, Occupy Wall Street is indeed gearing up for a massive day of protests, rallies and marches in New York and around the world tomorrow to spread its anti-greed message. With police and bankers reportedly joining forces to respond, I fervently hope the events stay lawful and peaceful and we don't once again see tragic history repeating.

This mural in the lobby of a building is my tribute to workers everywhere. By happenstance, I found it in New York City, but I can't remember exactly where.

This is my contribution to Monday Murals.

New York, 2008

PS. There are some humans who should not work at all. That would be young school-aged children. Help me reach my goal of raising US$500 by chipping in $5, $10 or whatever. Together we can sponsor two children to STOP working in the filthy unhealthy coal factory in a Manila slum and START going to school. Details and secure chip in form on top of my rght sidebar.

My heartfelt thanks to those who have encouraged me and contributed.

A gift of education is a gift of hope.

And it's the only key to change their world.

Project PEARLS: Peace, Education, Aspiration, Respect, Love, Smile.

[Featured in National Geographic.]

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion." 

                                                     - The Dalai Lama 

Monday Mural I

 New York, 2008

Many months ago sister blogger at Oakland Daily Photo started posting awesome murals she finds all over her city every Monday. I've been following them with great pleasure. More recently, others have followed suit in posting all kinds of wall art (click here and here on Mondays).

Murals appeal to me on a number of levels. Wall art comes in many forms: it can be a divine fresco in an old church, a fun depiction of a historical story, or even just an attractive way to decorate a commercial establishment. In any event, they bring color and stories into our lives. Like all public art, murals bring art to the people; they are accessible. Unlike graffiti, wall art is invited, it is not an intrusion, a defacement of public or private property. And as with all mediums and levels of art, I definitely like some more than others.

Today's animal glass mosaic mural above is worth enlarging to see the detail. I snapped it walking into the Fifth Avenue subway in New York City a few years ago. It is part of a collection of murals at that station called Urban Oasis created by artist Ann Schaumburger in collaboration with Miotto Mosaics in 1997.

I think the tiled sign for the subway was pretty cool too and will link it with Signs, Signs (on Wednesday).

I don't see enough murals to post one every week, but this is a first of what I hope will be an occasional series.

If you too like wall art, click on the keyword mural on my sidebar to see a few I have posted before and go check out some of the fabulous ones posted by the other photo bloggers. And come check this spot on Mondays.

Or better yet, post your own mural and let us know!

My Kind of Diner

I love The Big Apple. It's one of the most diverse cities in the world and a fabulous place to explore on foot - when you're lucky with the weather.

Consider just eating... With over 18,696 restaurants in the five boroughs (says NYC's Tourism Board), you could live there for 50 years, eat out every night, and never enter the same place twice. Whew!

For me, good food will always trump atmosphere, but I am happiest when I can get both. After a long morning of walking the streets of Manhattan, we stumbled on this funky diner and stopped to rest our tired feet.  My lunch of lox and cream cheese on a big bagel with a cup of dark rich coffee was just perfect.

Manhattan, 2006

There are lots of reflections in this image for Weekend Reflections hosted by James. Click on the link to get to links to many creative reflections.